A variety of operator or automatic control devices have been used for many years to control the position of certain moveable engine components such as a carburetor's throttle and choke and the modulator valve of an automatic transmission.
Although the carburetor throttle position is most commonly controlled by an accelerator pedal actuated by a foot of the operator, there are instances where the throttle position may be remotely controlled by hand movement of some type of hand lever connected to the throttle.
Although it is present practice to employ sophisticated control systems to position a carburetor choke that employ a variety of sensed engine conditions such as coolant temperature, air temperature, atmospheric pressure and other conditions, the position of the choke may, if desired, be controlled directly by the operator moving a hand operated lever.
Many of the accelerator pedal operated prior-art devices for controlling the position of a carburetor throttle employ a shaft such as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,517, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Such devices, however, have generally featured a non-rotating shaft and none have utilized a rotating shaft as a means of providing a visual indication of the position of the throttle.
The particular position of moveable engine components such as the carburetor throttle and choke and the modulator valve of an engine automatic transmission provides the operator with useful and informative information heretofor unavailable that can provide a forewarning of changes occuring in the engine system relative to wear or slippage or other factors.